Posts by gaiagirl

29

JWs and 9/11

by kgfreeperson in

i couldn't find anything using search, so maybe somebody just needs to point me in the right direction.

but i don't remember any discussion about what jws thought was happening when planes started flying into buildings and the hysteria in the nation began to build.

i do know about the reaction of the watchtower, locking their doors against people in need.

When the WTBTS institutes "highest security measures", what exactly does this consist of? Do they have armed guards, or just lots of locks on the doors and someone ready to call the police? I've seen photographs of one of the former presidents of the Society (perhaps Rutherford?), surrounded by a gang of brothers carrying long batons or staffs, with which to defend him against any who might attack him.

What measures are available to the WTBTS to "defend" their property against those who might attempt to enter the premises, either to escape a disaster like 9/11, or with other motives?

15

Anyone have a pet iguana?

by MoeJoJoJo in

jw
friends

it wasn't a pet we actually wanted but now that we have the iguana, we actually like it.. how we came to own zilla (short for godzilla): i was having a yard sale last weekend and my mom brought some stuff over to sell.

well she and my sister worked the yard sale while i went for my dentist appointment saturday.

while i was at the dentist someone stopped by and dropped off this iguana--he told my mother that we could sell it in our yard sale or keep it as a pet because he has a baby that was born premature coming home from the hospital, and they can't keep the iguana anymore, please, please take it.

gaiagirl

Well, I don't have an iquana, but another animal friend which is approximately as unusual, an axolotl. Axolotls are aquatic salamanders, a larval form of the tiger salamander. Some axolotls eventually mature, lose their gills, and leave the water. Others remain in the larval stage their entire lives, although they continue to grow to adult size. They have legs, but can't move easily on land. In the water, they swim very efficiently by undulating their body and wide flat tail sideways, kind of like a very small alligator, or perhaps like an eel.

Some find them quite creepy looking, with their tentacle-like gills surrounding their heads, but I am rather fascinated. I suspect that an axolotl was the inspiration for the creature Sammael which fought Hellboy in the recent film.

I've had mine for a couple of years, she used to have a friend who did lose his gills and became a tiger salamander, after which he disappeared. I never found him, so don't know for certain what happened.

This one, named Grace after the character on the sitcom, will dance on her hind legs, kind of a water ballet, when you approach the tank, and will eat tubifex cubes from ones fingers.

19

What on earth are you listening to? (winamp/media player users)

by El blanko in

jw
friends

if you have winamp or media player installed - what is on your playlist at the moment?

like a child runnin' wild - curtis mayfield.

we are here - banca de gaia.

gaiagirl

My playlist includes many, many New Age tunes from artists like Jonn Serrie, Enya, Steve Roach, Constance Demby, Michael Danna, Tim Clement, Susan Cianni, and William Aura, as well as better known artists like Pat Benetar, the Go-Gos, Jane Wiedlin, Bananarama, Avril Lavigne, Juliana Hatfield, Liz Phair, Celine Dion, and Lorena McKennit. There is another whole playlist filled with music from the Waveform catalog and similar tunes, electronica with various tempos, some just instrumental, others with accompanying vocals. Lately, I just let Media Player shuffle among everything, so in the few minutes I've been online checking my mail, I've heard Steve Roach, Vanessa Williams, and just now, a tune called Dallam by a group named I-Sense.

7

Field Service Quota?

by Unclepenn1 in

jw
friends

do jw's have to keep a quota to remain active?

does anyone have any wt article or km that tells the rank and file what is expected if they are going to be a publisher, vs a pioneer, or anything like that?

gaiagirl

The idea of a certain minimum acceptable number of field service hours to qualify for any position in the congregation seems to be at variance with the Bible record of what was said to take place in the first century.

According to Ephesians 4:11, people were selected and used in the congregations based on their abilities or gifts, "And he gave SOME as apostles, SOME as prophets, SOME as evangelizers (apparantly not ALL), SOME as shepherds and teachers.

The account in Luke 21:2 regarding the poor widow who dropped "two small coins of very little value" into the congregations "treasury chest" seems to indicate that if one are doing all that they can, then that is sufficient.

Not surprisingly, the "quota" is just a rule made by men.

2

Accepting one's own mortality and JWs

by seattleniceguy in

the lyrics to the song "dust in the wind" say in part:.

same old song.

just a drop of water in and endless sea.

gaiagirl

As reconstituted "dust" however, it is interesting to speculate on what forms that "dust" took before taking its current form. Where have all those atoms been, before being "you"?

What form did it have 100 years ago? 1000 years ago? 100,000 years ago, etc?

And, what forms WILL it have in 100 years, 1000 years, 100,000 years, etc?

60

Walmart or Target?

by Stefanie in

jw
friends

.

which do you prefer?.

gaiagirl

I will shop at WalMart only if I know exactly where I can grab what I'm looking for and then get out. The nearly constant pages for employees over the loudspeakers is completely distracting.

I much prefer Target. The environment is much calmer, and it is more relaxing to shop there. Target is pleasant to just walk around and browse for different items. For me, this is very much worth a few cents, or even a few dollars difference in the total price at the checkout.

22

Illustration of burning cities while JW's rejoice?

by gaiagirl in

i remember once seeing an older watchtower publication, i believe it was a study book from the late '60s or early '70s, in which one illustration showed a city with large buildings in the background, all burning and in ruins.

in the foreground, a group of well-groomed jw's smile joyously and raise their arms in praise to jehovah, apparantly thanking him for destroying civilization, but at least allowing them to live.

the picture was a little unsettling at the time, and now with the threat of terrorism, even more so.. does anyone remember which publication this image was from?

gaiagirl

Thanks to everyone for their contributions to this thread. I think the picture I was remembering was the one shown from the "Mans Salvation From Worlds Distress" book (it was an older book, with black/white illustrations, to which color accents had been added.) Special thanks to Wild Thing for the link showing that particular picture.

But some of the other pictures were even creepier than I remembered. Uggh!

22

Illustration of burning cities while JW's rejoice?

by gaiagirl in

i remember once seeing an older watchtower publication, i believe it was a study book from the late '60s or early '70s, in which one illustration showed a city with large buildings in the background, all burning and in ruins.

in the foreground, a group of well-groomed jw's smile joyously and raise their arms in praise to jehovah, apparantly thanking him for destroying civilization, but at least allowing them to live.

the picture was a little unsettling at the time, and now with the threat of terrorism, even more so.. does anyone remember which publication this image was from?

gaiagirl

I remember once seeing an older Watchtower publication, I believe it was a study book from the late '60s or early '70s, in which one illustration showed a city with large buildings in the background, all burning and in ruins. In the foreground, a group of well-groomed JW's smile joyously and raise their arms in praise to Jehovah, apparantly thanking him for destroying civilization, but at least allowing them to live.

The picture was a little unsettling at the time, and now with the threat of terrorism, even more so.

Does anyone remember which publication this image was from?

81

Do you believe in "same sex" marriage?

by Carmel in

jw
friends

yesterday i tuned into espn sports radio and listened to a semi-political debate on several issues.

when "same sex" marriage came up one of the talking heads refrained that "all marriages are same sex.

" you get married and have the "same sex" over and over again!

gaiagirl

I absolutely support same-sex marriage for the following reasons:

1) Marriage is not about gender or producing children. Marriage is about commitment. Gay and lesbian couples can be just as commited, if not more so, than heterosexual couples. Think about it. One can have heterosexual relations without committment, and one can even produce children without being committed to the other parent. What makes the difference? Why do some choose to marry? Because they are committed to their partner. One chooses to marry someone to whom they commit the remainder of their life.

2) Marriage is not a "God-based" arrangement, and did not begin with the culture which produced the writings which later were collected to form the Bible. People all over the world, even those who did not claim to be "Gods chosen people", were joining themselves together in committed relationships for thousands of years before the "thou shalt not" writings of the Biblical patriarchs. In many of these cultures, there was no bias against same-sex relationships.

3) "Gods" word does not condemn same-sex marriage, or for that matter, homosexuality. Rather, some nomadic fundamentalists chose to prohibit ALL sexual activity outside of certain narrowly defined parameters. These writings are not the words of God, or even a god. They are just the writings of men, who claimed to speak for God. The same thing happens today, with people and organizations such as Jerry Falwell, and with the Taliban. They make a claim to act in God's name, then cite some "inspired scripture" to justify their hateful actions.

4) Failure to provide full marriage benefits to same-sex couples is simply hate-based religious discrimination, directed against those who don't share the same religous beliefs. Laws which discriminate against those of a particular religious belief are unconstitutional.

10

Armaggedon comes - at a set day and hour or as a result of circumstances?

by truthseeker in

i have been thinking about this question for some time.

considering the society's past deceptions and false dates about armaggedon, i never gave the timing of this "day after tomorrow" event too much thought.. and then i got to thinking, well, maybe there isn't a set day or hour for the end of the world.

the few examples that jehovah gave a specific time for a city to be destroyed was nineveh (40 days) and jerusalem (the 70 weeks of years).

gaiagirl

I heard various JWs express conflicting opinions on this topic. An elder once told me privately "If you speak to one of the Governing Body, THEY now know when the end will take place". It was frequently repeated that Jehovah had set an appointed date, and that, while Jesus had not known that date during his life on Earth, he knew it NOW that he was reigning in heaven.

However, others would sometimes say things like "The tribulation can't begin until the message has been preached to ALL the nations, so we better get out in service so as not to hold up Armageddon".

So, either the date is set, or it is flexible and waiting for something else to be finished.....which was it???